Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Forestry Commission: Land

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many hectares of land managed by the Forestry Commission in England are (1) open habitat, (2) agricultural land, (3) quarries, (4) car parks, and (5) built development.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Public Forest Estate in England is placed at the disposal of the Forestry Commissioners under section (3)1 of the Forestry Act 1967. Figures for the area of land managed by the Forestry Commission in England are given below. The area includes land in both freehold and leasehold ownership. The figures below are accurate for the 1 April 2018. Land managed by the Forestry Commission in EnglandHectares (Ha)(1) Open habitat44,567 ha(2) Agricultural land7,212 ha(3) Quarries216 ha(4) Car parks152 ha(5) Built development243 ha

Agriculture: Seasonal Workers

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what effect Brexit has had on seasonal workers in the fruit picking industry; and what measures they are taking to address the labour shortages reported by the British Summer Fruits trade body.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Government recognises the concerns of stakeholders about the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU on the seasonal workforce in horticulture. We understand the importance of seasonal labour in supporting a successful and effective agricultural sector, and we are considering how best to support the needs of the sector both before and after we leave the EU.Defra considers the latest data and works closely with industry to understand labour demand and supply, including on the seasonal workforce. The data provided by British Summer Fruits is a welcome addition to our evidence base. To give businesses and citizens certainty, the UK and EU have reached agreement on the terms of an implementation period that will start on 30 March 2019 and last until 31 December 2020. Until the end of December 2020, employers in the agricultural and food processing sectors can recruit EU citizens to fill vacancies, and those arriving to work will be able to stay in the UK afterwards.Whilst the UK prepares to leave the EU, Defra is working closely with the Home Office to ensure that there is a long term strategy for agricultural labour as part of our future immigration policy.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Turkey: Elections

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will report to the OSCE monitors the recent detentions and arrests of HDP officials and attacks on their offices in Ankara and Hatay.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK strongly supports the work of the OSCE election observation mission to monitor the campaign environment and conduct of the Turkish elections, including any accusations of violence linked to the campaign. We have contributed observers to the mission. We make it clear that elections had to take place in a peaceful atmosphere and needed to respect for international standards and fundamental freedoms.

Jerusalem: Palestinians

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel about Palestinian families in the Silwan neighbourhood of East Jerusalem threatened with eviction.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​I refer the noble Lady to my answer of 14 June to Question HL8330.

Burma: Travel Restrictions

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussionsthey are having with the government of Burma about Burmese authorities denying aid agencies, international observers, foreign diplomats and politicians access to the country.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​We have repeatedly urged Burma to lift restrictions on access to Burma and to specific regions within Burma for aid agencies, journalists and diplomats and politicians. We shall continue to do so when meeting Burmese Government officials. Given the depth of international concern about the treatment of minority groups in Burma it is all the more important that international representatives and observers are able to operate across the country and report freely what is happening.

Burma: Armed Conflict

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken at the United Nations to address the situation in Burma.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK is actively engaged at the United Nations, seeking to sustain international commitment to resolving the Rohingya crisis and address other issues of concern in Burma. The UK secured a UN Security Council Presidential Statement on the situation in Rakhine in November 2017, and co-led the Security Council's visit to Burma of 30 April-1 May.The UK co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council resolutions on Burma in March 2017 (which established the Fact Finding Mission), December 2017 and March 2018, ensuring the Council called for an end to violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by parties to Burma's internal conflict. The UK encouraged the appointment of a new UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Myanmar, who took up her position in June.

Burma: Crimes against Humanity

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made, if any, to the government of Burma regarding voluntarily accepting the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute crimes against humanity.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: At the Foreign Affairs Council in February the UK, together with our EU partners, invited Burma to become a State Party to the Rome Statute or accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.We have made clear that there must be a credible, transparent and impartial investigation, which holds to account the perpetrators of atrocities in Rakhine State. We ensured that the UN Security Council letter of 31 May to Burma called for an independent and transparent domestic investigation with international involvement.

Israel: Palestinians

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about reports of Israeli forces in Hebron welding the front door to a Palestinian home shut, with no other doorway to the outside, in order to prevent the family walking on a Jewish only road.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: While we have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities, we remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement within the West Bank, including Hebron.

Israeli Settlements: Electricity Interconnectors

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the news that the EU has agreed to supply Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Golan Heights with electricity once the EuroAsia Interconnector has been completed.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The European External Action Service published guidelines in 2013 clarifying the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the EU from 2014 onwards. We would expect agreements pertaining to the EuroAsia Interconnector to uphold these guidelines.

Israel: Palestinians

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they maintain a record of allegations of war crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; and if so, how they use this information.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not maintain a record of alleged war crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Israel: Palestinians

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they maintain a record of (1) new settlements, and (2) demolitions, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; if so, how many such events have been recorded in each of the past three years; and what representations about those incidents, if any, they have made to the government of Israel in the past 12 months.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office monitors both settlements and demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, based on official Israeli, UN and EU figures, as well as those of a range of non-governmental organisations.The settlement picture and relevant metrics are complex. These include settlement unit advancements at various stages in different planning processes, as well as the construction and establishment of both new settlements and settlement outposts. According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics in 2015 there were 1,962 new construction starts in settlements, in 2016 there were 3,069, and in 2017 there were 1,626. No data is currently available for 2018.According to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, an average of 35 Palestinian structures each month were targeted for demolition by the Israeli authorities between January and May this year. In 2017, 35 structures per month were targeted; in 2016, 91 per month, and in 2015, 47 per month.We regularly make representations to the Israeli authorities about both settlements and demolitions. The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa raised our concerns about new settlement announcements and demolitions with the Israeli authorities during his visit to Israel on 30-31 May. The Foreign Secretary also raised the proposed demolition of Khan Al-Ahmar with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 6 June.

USA: Undocumented Migrants

lord jones of cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the government of the United States’ policy of incarcerating immigrant children separated from their parents in cages; and what representations they have made to that government about this policy.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: As the Prime Minister said on 20 June, the reports and pictures we have seen in the past couple of days are deeply disturbing and wrong. We do not apply similar measures here and will never do so. Later on 20 June, President Trump signed an Executive Order aimed at ending the separation policy.

Cameroon: Politics and Government

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they havemade of the comments of the United States Ambassador to the Cameroon that there have been "targeted killings" in its English speaking regions.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We are aware of the statement made by the US Ambassador to Cameroon, Peter Barlerin and are deeply concerned at the worsening situation in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. We continue to monitor the situation closely and make clear our concerns to the Cameroonian authiorities.In his meeting with Cameroonian Prime Minister Yang during CHOGM, the Foreign Secretary pressed for urgent action to resolve the dispute and associated violence, and the release of detainees. The Minister for Africa also delivered the same message to Commonwealth Minister Mbayu when she met him in London.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces

lord truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the UK qualifies, and will continue to qualify, as a tier one military power.

earl howe: Through the plans and policies set out in Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, the Government committed to maintain the UK's status as a Tier 1 military power. Since 2015 the threats have increased rapidly and become more complex. The Modernising Defence Programme will make sure that our Armed Forces have the right capabilities to meet the increasing threat picture.

Department for Work and Pensions

Refugees

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Buscombe on 15 May (HL7464), what plans, if any, they have to (1) place in the Library of the House, and (2) publish, the findings of the recent exercise to monitor the impact of the supported handover process for refugees.

baroness buscombe: This was an internal evaluation and therefore we do not plan to formally publish the findings or place a copy in the Library of the House.However, as we intend to write to the Work and Pensions Select Committee detailing our findings our response to the Committee will, as is usually the case, be placed in the public domain.

Treasury

Pension Funds

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of data from IC Select showing a decline in the percentage of investment consultant contracts put out to tender by pension funds from 20per cent in 2008 to 3per cent last year.

lord bates: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are currently conducting a detailed investigation of the Investment Consultants market. Their investigation will examine market concentration, the competitive landscape, information on fees and quality of service, among other issues. The CMA will publish their final report by March 2019 and the Government will study it closely.